Note: This is a draft post – please hold off on using the information until it is final (You’ll know it’s final because this warning will be removed).
These instructions are meant to be tips and not a complete “how to” upgrade MAS90. Upgrades are recommended to always be performed by a qualified consultant.
You will notice that I have not written verbose instructions to completing every step. My assumption is that you are skilled enough to know how to access the different menus within MAS 90 and MAS 200. If any of this wording seems unfamiliar to you then stop reading and seek the assistance of a competent Sage consultant to assist you with your upgrade.
Disclaimer: Schulz Consulting assumes no responsibility if you follow these instructions and somehow screw up your upgrade. Proceed at your own risk. Although we strive to make these instructions complete, there is a distinct possibility that your system requires more/different steps than what I’ve listed.
Upgrades from versions prior to 4.0 are generally not recommended for self-install by the end user.
During the course of the installation you may be prompted to re-boot your server (regular and any Terminal Server installations) – please plan accordingly to have all users logged out of the server while the installation is happening.
Version 4.1 is a major upgrade. If you are using Inventory and Sales Order – consider acquiring the assistance of a consultant (who knows what they’re doing).
Tip: Before starting — rename \mas90\home\pvxwin32.exe to pvxwin32.old so nobody can login to the system while you are doing the steps below. On MAS200 you can turn off new logins at the Application Server.
Before you start this, make sure you have:
- MAS 90 upgrade disks
- Reviewed the Supported Platform Matrices to be sure your hardware and operating system are supported by Sage Software.
- Extended Solution upgrades
- Any third party upgrades needed (check the compatibility list)
- Latest version required of Crystal, Starship, Credit Cards, etc.
- Unlocking and registration codes
- User name and password for Sage Knowledgebase
- Reviewed the entire contents of the Sage Pre-Installation Recommendations for important news about upgrading Sage MAS 90 and 200.
Print these totals out from your existing (pre-upgrade version) of MAS 90:
- Total debits/credits from latest GL Detail
- Total AP owing as of today from AP Aging
- Total AR owing as of today from AR Aging
- Total open Sales Orders as of today
- Total open Purchase Orders as of today
- Total Inventory value as of today
- Any other crucial totals – including copies of custom reports that you rely upon
Tips For Upgrading MAS90 from 4.x to 4.x
- Make a complete copy of the ..\mas90 folder and all sub-folders to another location on a local disk (even when you are sure/positive/beyond a reasonble doubt that the IT department is making backups). I like to copy it into a folder named “mas90 backup – ok to delete” so that IT staff know the folder is ok to erase when I’m done (or it also reminds me that it’s ok to delete this one)
- Obtain a copy of the registration / unlocking codes from sagesoftwareonline.com – these can also generally be found on packing slips or by calling Sage Softare 800-854-3415.
- Download any Extended Solutions ( I suggest saving this into a \mas90\consultant\download) folder for easy organization. Your Sage Business Partner will have these or you can call Sage Sales directly at 800-854-3415 and request them.
- If you haven’t previously installed MAS90 from this workstation / server (and you can do this just to be safe) – go to ..\mas90\home and run pvxcom.exe which will prevent the providex.script error message after you’ve typed in 99% of the information that the install requires.
- Install MAS90 version 4.x on top of your prior version 4.x (Note: It is very important that you have a total backup prior to doing this – do not install over any MAS90 system where you are not confident of the completeness and integrity of your backup).
- Load latest service updates – these are downloaded from Sagesoftwareonline (login req’d)
- Install any Extended Solutions (be sure you’ve requested the very lates from Sage)
- Log into MAS90 and convert data (This is done in company maintenance)
- Go to ..\mas90\home and run MASCRCW.EXE to convert all rpt files in the company data directories (MAS_xxx\reports as well as ..\mas90\reports). This probably won’t prevent pesky annoying “your report is on an older version” error messages. Let users know that it’s ok to answer “yes” when asked to convert.
- Check role maintenance for any new applications
- Update the live company data (Tip: I generally let the other companies – backup/archive – update overnight because if I kick off “update all” and the conversion takes hours then I’m stuck babysitting the screen which is usually not efficient when the upgrade could instead be run overnight)
- Upgrade any User Defined Fields to the latest version – you must go into each table with a UDF and click update (There is no way to update them all at once). You may want to first print a list of the UDF fields so you know which tables to tackle.
- Go into the setup screens for any Extended Solutions (and other third party solutions) and make sure they aren’t waiting for you to acknowledge their setup by somehow activating them (the messages will vary by solution). This is important because on Extended Solutions we find that if you skip this step that some solutions de-activate themselves.
- If you need to upgrade any third party programs such as FRX, F9, Crystal Reports then do so now. Sage publishes an Integrated Solutions Compatibility Matrix that tells you when an update of integrated software is required.
- Run workstation setup on each and every workstation (mandatory) – if you fail to run the workstation setup the MAS 90 program may appear to run but error out in some crucial functions. Be sure to remember to update any Terminal Server users as well (generally you can log into TS as Administrator and run the WKSETUP once).
- If you’ve customized screens via Custom Office for users, then have them go into their individual workstations and check the screen fields. Remember: The screens are customized by user code and workstation – so if you’re logged in with a different code for the upgrade – be sure to log out so they can go in with their user code and view the enhancements specific to their MAS 90 code.
- Test everything by printing reports, visiting screens, printing checks, printing forms.
